12 Platform one UAV Navigation has developed software that can keep UAVs away from restricted or excluded areas even if comms links fail (writes Nick Flaherty). Restricted areas are limited to authorisation by the competent agency, such as airports, heliports, national parks, military installations, hospitals and nuclear power plants. Excluded areas are zones where the flight is prohibited, and are areas normally associated with military installations or war zones. UAV Navigation’s Visionair ground control software includes a No-Fly Zones Editor to draw the zones on the pre-flight mission planning map to a no-fly zone and reprogram the flight to keep the UAV away from it. The algorithm will also create a new flight path without the operator’s intervention. This automatic manoeuvre will reduce the workload of operators and increase flight safety. That means the UAS will be safe in the event of an incorrect flight plan where one of the legs of the plan intercepts a no-fly zone. The autopilot will autonomously execute the required manoeuvres to reach the next waypoint without entering the area, allowing it to continue its mission. In the same way, if the designated UAS operator commands an erroneous heading, the system will recalculate the route, avoiding the geofenced area. Geofencing ‘No entry’ UAV software improve operator situational awareness and prevent the aircraft from entering unauthorised areas. The geofenced areas this creates, whether circular or polygonal, are stored in the UAV’s autopilot. This means that if the comms fail, the flight control system (FCS) will still know where the no-fly zone is. Once the no-fly zone is defined, Visionair allows the operator to configure the execution of different actions if the aircraft strays into the zone. These can be an automatic parachute release, self-activating a hover mode in the case of rotary wing platforms, or automatic mission replanning. An internal algorithm allows the FCS to detect when the aircraft is heading to October/November 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The no-fly zone can be configured to different UAV actions if it strays into the zone
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